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Newsleader Sartell

Friday, April 11, 2014 Volume 19, Issue 15 Est. 1995

Town Crier

Lots going on April 12 at Sartell Farmers’ Market

Ken Ramler will demonstrate how to grow your own sweet potatoes at the Sartell Farmers’ Market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday, April 12 at Sartell City Hall, 125 Pine Cone Road N. The 2014 Minnesota Grown catalogs are in and free. Anita Rasmussen, planning director for the City of Sartell, will be available to answer questions and provide an opportunity to weigh in on the future growth plans in Sartell.

And, as usual, there will be free food samples.

Expert speaks on transition from high school to college

The Sartell Special Education Advisory Committee will meet from 6-8 p.m. Monday, April 14 at the District Service Center, 212 3rd Ave. N. Julie Jacobson-Berg from St. Cloud Technical and Community College will speak about transition from high school to college. This meeting is open to all parents of students served in special education in the SartellSt. Stephen School District.

St. Stephen Legion holds steak fry

The St. Stephen Legion Steak Fry will be held from 4:30-8 p.m.

Saturday, April 12 at the Rusty Nail, St. Stephen. There will be door prizes, a raffle and music.

St. Stephen sets centennial planning meeting

A City of St. Stephen centennial planning meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, April 13 at City Hall. If unable to attend but interested in helping, please contact Cindy at 320-529-8498 or Cris at 320-253-7946.

Student council hosts charity carnival April 12

Postal Patron

Music, arts abound at two SMA fundraisers

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Lively music and a stunning variety of arts and crafts filled Sartell Middle School April 5 during the Pine Groove Art Festival, one of two fundraisers that took place on that day in Sartell for the Sartell Music Association.

The other event was an evening dance with the Andrew Walesch Big Band at the Mulligan Event Center.

“They were very successful,” said Maureen Putnam of Sartell, one of the organizers of the fundraisers. “We did much better than we’ve ever done for an arts event. It was so nice to see arts shared in the community. The Pine Groove Art Festival was a wonderful example of teamwork among the Sartell music faculty and others. They did an outstanding job.”

SMA • page 6

photo by Dennis Dalman

The Ragdona String Quartet performs Simon Tov, an Israeli folk song, during the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. From left to right are Josephine Warmka, and her sister, Amelia, both of Monticello; Chesney Tillemans of Sartell; and Carter Scheele of St. Cloud.

School board approves weighted-grade system

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Pressure to achieve high grade-point averages in high school can be so nerve-wracking that some students are hesitant to take the more challenging college-level courses.

That is why the Sartell-St. Stephen School District has recently approved a “weighted-grade” system for the next school year.

With weighted grades, a student can get a B in a course and still maintain a perfect grade-

point average if all of that other student’s grades are A’s. The weighted-grade concept will be retroactive to all students who took advanced-placement classes as early as in ninth grade.

Sartell High School Principal Brenda Steve and several other school officials presented the weighted-grade concept to the school board at its March 17 meeting.

A weighted-grade system adds a 1.0 to grades given in advanced-placement courses. The grades are adjusted, in other

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Congratulations to our Globetrotter ticket winners

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obtain scholarships and gain admission to colleges, the school officials noted. All colleges and post-secondary education facilities, they said, are aware of the weighted-grading systems and accept them as valid in considering student applicants. If colleges request regular, unweighted grades, Sartell High School will report them, along with the weighted grades. The school will not report grade class-rankings of students on transcripts to colleges unless requested, School • page 3

DeLuca shares sudden luck with others

The annual Fun Fest Charity Carnival and Silent Auction, sponsored by the high school student council, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 12 in the commons at Sartell High School. There will be 25¢ games, concessions, a bounce house and silent auction. All proceeds will go to Children’s Lighthouse of Minnesota – an organization raising money to build a hospice house for terminally ill children and their families.

They are Sartell winner Randy Giles, St. Stephen winner John Hommerding and online winner Becky Frank, St. Cloud.

words, to reflect the course’s difficulty above and beyond the high-school level. Thus, if a student gets a B in college-level calculus, for example, that grade would be counted as a 4.0 in calculating the student’s overall grade-point average. Normally, one must get an A to get the 4.0.

If a student gets an A in that college-level calculus course, she will be given a 5.0, which is 1.0 more than the 4.0 assigned to an A in a regular high-school course.

Weighted grades help students

contributed photo

Mike DeLuca (left) is a winner of Coborn’s Food Club drawing, winning $500 in gift certificates, which he is going to give to people in need. At right is Ryan Rothwell, the store manager of the Coborn’s Super Store in Sartell, where DeLuca entered the drawing.

Mike DeLuca, who never had much luck winning anything, used to daydream about what he’d do if he ever did win something – giving at least some of the winnings to someone else who needs them more than he does.

DeLuca was at home March 25 when he noticed, looking out the window, a red van parked on his street. A woman holding a clipboard got out of the van.

“The first thing that popped into my mind was Internal Rev-

www.thenewsleaders.com

enue Service?” DeLuca recalled.

“Did I do something wrong with taxes?”

Then he saw a man with balloons get out of the van.

“Somebody next door must be having a birthday,” DeLuca figured.

A bit later, DeLuca heard knocks on his door.

He opened the door and there they stood, the man and the woman, grinning and giving congratulations. It took awhile for it all to sink in: DeLuca was a winner of Coborn’s Food Club drawing.

DeLuca • page 3

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

2

People

Friday, April 11, 2014

contributed photo

Sartell Middle School students who participated in the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair are (left to right) Peter Amundson, Elizabeth Ruder, Peyton Braun and Kobey Cofer. Ruder received a bronze award and the Minnesota Science Museum award.

Ruder wins awards at science fair Four Sartell Middle School students competed in a state science fair, and one of them received a bronze award and the Minnesota Science Museum Award.

Elizabeth Ruder, a seventhgrader, was honored for her project entitled “Feathers vs.

Vanes: Flight Through the Wind.” Ruter tested the variables of the effects of wind on arrow fletches as they were

shot through a wind tunnel.

Other participants were Peter Amundson, an eighth-grader, whose project was entitled “To Build a Fire,” and Peyton Braun and Kobey Cofer, both eighth-graders, whose project was dubbed “Solubility of Drugs.”

The Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair took place March 30-April 1 in Bloomington.

contributed photo

Team members include the following: (front row, left to right) Ella Krauel, Abby Starz, Brannon Bjork, Brad Kalla and Ayleigh Hammond; (back row) Elaine Lo, Amber Pietrowski, Mallory Daniels, Janagan Ramanathan and Jayden Nguyen. The team is coached by Nicole Maslowski.

Academic Triathlon Team wins at state tournament Two teams of five 5th- and 6th-graders from Sartell Middle School competed March 22 at the 2014 U.S. Academic Triathlon Minnesota State Tournament, held in Cottage Grove (Minn.) Middle School. During the Tournament, the team wrote, produced and performed a skit spontaneously. The topic was, “The Smiths Invade Earth,” requiring students to illustrate the confusion caused when aliens invade earth and attempt

to fit into America society. The team participated in a “Face-Off!” competition, a round of questions from history and math to literature and consumer issues; and rotated among three challenging “Mind Sprint” rooms, testing their verbal, critical and creative problemsolving skills. The team has been practicing since last fall. Roughly 170 teams, grades 5-8, participated in U.S. Academic Triathlon this year in Minnesota alone.

contributed photo

The members of St. Francis Catholic Church in Sartell recently donated $3,400 for Kids Against Hunger. The parish conducted a coin drive for one month. All loose coins that were put in the collections held during Mass were saved for Kids Fighting Hunger. St. Monica’s Christian Women added $569. Along with a few other donations, the total was $3,400. On Feb. 15, 46 parishioners and guests gathered at the warehouse and packaged 21,000 meals of chicken and rice.

Sarah Lage, daughter of Michelle and Mike Lage of Sartell, has been accepted for the 2014 fall semester at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn. Her planned major field of study is special education/music.

Austin Barkley, son of Julie and Jim Barkley of Sartell, is studying in Spain during spring semester 2014 through the Office for Education Abroad at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. Barkley is a junior Hispanic studies major at SJU. Segovia serves as the site for the Spain study abroad program.

In Segovia, students immerse themselves in Spanish culture,

art, history, politics and language.

The program is directed toward students seeking to deepen their training in Spanish language and culture. All courses are taught in Spanish. The cities, castles, churches and museums of Spain are used as “classrooms” by the program professors. Each student lives with a Spanish family for the duration of the program.

Vilma Walter, instructor of Hispanic Studies at CSB and SJU, is the director of the spring 2014 program.

Isaac Siekawitch, son of Elizabeth and Larry Siekawitch of Sartell, was recently named with honors to the fall semester dean’s

Blotter

If any readers have tips concerning crimes, they should call the Sartell Police Department at 320-2518186 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 320-255-1301 or access its tip site at www.tricountycrimestoppers. org. Crime Stoppers offers rewards up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for crimes.

March 27 5:47 p.m. Sartell Street. Carbon monoxide. A report was made regarding carbon-monoxide detector alarm inside a residence.

Officers arrived and could not detect a harmful level. The homeowner was advised to replace the detectors.

March 26 12:17 a.m. Sartell Street. Domestic. A report was made regarding a male and female yelling and throwing items in the residence.

Officers arrived and both parties stated it was only a verbal argument. The female agreed to leave for the evening to calm down.

3:17 p.m. Walmart. Theft. A report was made regarding an adult male attempting to return stolen merchandise. The male admitted to the theft. He was issued a citation and released.

March 28 9:49 a.m. 7th Street N. Found property. A report was made of a license plate that was located inside a car wash. Officers were able to return the plate to the residence.

4:05 p.m. 2nd Avenue N. Suspicious activity. A report was made regarding two juveniles running down the road, carrying a purse.

An officer located the juveniles and found the purse did belong to one of the females.

March 29 4:19 a.m. 4th Avenue N. Loud

list at University of Northwestern, St. Paul. The dean’s list includes full-time students with a gradepoint minimum average of 3.65.

Siekawitch is pursuing a degree in pastoral ministry.

Kelsey Jones of Sartell, recently competed in the Minnesota Collegiate DECA Career Development Conference as part of the St. Cloud State University DECA chapter. She received first place in human resources management and fourth place in business ethics. She is headed to the International Collegiate DECA conference in Washington, D.C. in late April.

music. A report was made regarding loud music coming from a residence. Officers arrived and were not able to hear any music or loud noises.

2:38 p.m. Lawrence Court.

Found dog. A resident reported finding a lost dog. Officers were able to contact the owner and return the dog to its residence.

March 30 2:41 a.m. Riverside Avenue.

DWI. While on patrol, an officer witnessed a vehicle driving erratically. The driver was unable to pass field sobriety testing. He was placed under arrest and transported to Stearns County Jail without incident.

10:01 a.m. 7th Street N. Traffic stop. A vehicle was witnessed traveling 44 mph in a posted 30mph zone. The driver was issued a citation and released.

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Friday, April 11, 2014

School from front page Steve noted. Research indicates a steep decline in colleges that give any weight to class rankings when considering students for admission, school officials told the school board.

High-school students in Sartell have dozens of course options for advanced-placement and Discovery Academy classes, the latter made possible via the St. Cloud Technical College.

Many of those courses are more difficult and challenging than the normal run of high-school courses, school officials said to the school board. As a result, many students are hesitant to take the more difficult ones, fearing added stress and dimin-

ishment of a hard-won gradepoint average. The weightedgrade system is an incentive for students to go ahead and take courses they would likely have to take in college, anyway.

In an interview with the Newsleader, Steve said there are many schools in Minnesota and throughout the nation that now use weighted grading systems.

“It will be a real positive for our students,” she said. “We’ve had very positive feedback from parents and students.”

Some examples of advancedplacement classes are English, chemistry and psychology.

The decision to move to a weighted system in Sartell is the result of extensive research of schools nationwide, as well as input gathered from parents, students and faculty by a weighted-grade committee.

People

DeLuca from front page “I nearly fell over,” DeLuca said. “I almost never win anything.”

Customers fill out entry forms in the Coborn’s stores. When a name is selected at random from the box, a “prize patrol” goes to that residence. The winner gets a $20 Coborn’s food gift certificate for every “Food Club” or “Top Care” item they happen to have in their home.

The two who came to DeLuca’s home were Ryan Rothwell, manager of the Coborn’s Super Store in Sartell; and Rebecca Korowski, Coborn’s communications manager.

DeLuca rummaged around in his kitchen and found all kinds of Food-Club brand products he’d purchased at the Su-

3

per Store, where he most often shops for groceries. He found enough of the products, 25 of them, to get the maximum prize – $500-worth of food gift certificates.

After he thanked the prizepatrol people and said goodbye, DeLuca got to thinking, wondering how he could use the gift certificates to brighten up somebody else’s life.

“I live alone and really don’t eat very much,” he said. “I know some people out there are having a hard time.”

A 15-year member of the Sartell Lions Club, DeLuca has been instrumental in good deeds the Lions have done for many years, including the development of Lions Community Park in Sartell and countless other projects to help local people and Sartell schools.

DeLuca decided to give most of the certificates to the Sartell Lions Club. Its members

could decide which worthy people should get them. Thanks to a suggestion from Vicki Ray, his mobile-home park manager, DeLuca also plans to talk to police liaison officers in the Sartell schools to find out if they know of some hurting families of students who might need food certificates. And he plans to offer some of the certificates to a military veteran he knows, a man who has had some financial difficulties.

“I had some rough times myself when I moved here many years ago from Connecticut,” DeLuca said. “At one time I was living paycheck to paycheck, like a lot of people, and I’d have about $12 to live on between paying bills, so I know what that’s like.”

DeLuca is still surprised about his sudden luck. And he’s happy that luck will make a bit brighter day for somebody else.

Bounce on in to these businesses and register to win a plush bunny.

One entry per visit please.

Deadline for registering is Thursday, April 17.

Winners will be notified before Easter and announced in the April 25 edition.

contributed photo

Pictured from left to right: Larry Minnix, LeadingAge CEO; Jodi Speicher, Stars Among Us awards chair; Joan Zadoo, District D award recipient; Gayle Kvenvold, Aging Services of Minnesota president and CEO; and Jon Riewer, Aging Services of Minnesota board chair.

Zadoo honored as regional Caregiver of the Year Joan Zadoo was recently named the Aging Services of Minnesota 2014 District D Caregiver of the Year for her years of service to residents at the Good Shepherd Community in Sauk Rapids. This special award is the highest honor awarded to Minnesota caregivers who dedicate their lives and careers to service older adults.

Zadoo was honored by Aging Services of Minnesota, the state’s largest association of older adult services organizations in Minnesota.

Zadoo, a care manager at Good Shepherd Community, was nominated for the prestigious award by Good Shepherd staff Jeanette Schroden, assisted living manager, and Michelle Vasek, director of home care services.

“Joan represents a passionate resident-focused team member and coworker who makes everyone’s job easier,” said Gayle Kvenvold, president and CEO of Aging Services of Minnesota. “She leads the daily challenges with truly a “can-do” spirit and she is that exceptional caregiver that truly goes above and beyond the call of duty when caring and advocating for the residents in her care. The way the residents’ eyes light up when they see her represents great trust; just knowing her makes their lives more abundant.

“The Caregiver of the Year award is about honoring the very

best of the best. This award provides us with the opportunity to show Minnesotans the face of the people who care for our loved ones when we cannot. Joan Zadoo is the kind of caregiver we all hope will be there for us when we need help.”

About Aging Services of Minnesota Aging Services of Minnesota is the state’s largest association of organizations serving Minnesota seniors with membership encompassing more than 1,000 organizations statewide. Together with more than 50,000 caregivers, Aging Services members serve 63,000 older adults every day in all of the places they call home, including home care and services, independent senior housing, assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities. Aging Services is the state partner of LeadingAge and state affiliate of Assisted Living Federation of America.

About the Good Shepherd Community Good Shepherd Community is a senior living community with campuses located in Sauk Rapids and Becker, Minn. Services offered include patio homes, apartments, assisted living, memory care, shortterm sub-acute rehabilitation and long-term skilled nursing-home care. Good Shepherd has been a member of Aging Services of Minnesota for many years.

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4

Our View Break out the champagne, folks; time to celebrate ACA success

Break out the champagne, folks! Time to celebrate. Far from being the “train wreck” detractors dubbed it, the Affordable Care Act is well on track, rushing headlong into a happier future when all Americans will have affordable access to health care – just as all other civilized countries do.

As of April 1, 7.1 million people have enrolled in private insurance plans via the ACA, a fact that stunned both advocates and detractors.

In Minnesota, 169,251 people enrolled.

Those numbers may go higher because an extension was granted for those who had trouble enrolling.

What’s truly amazing is almost all of the enrollees must have signed up because they genuinely want health coverage and not because of the rather paltry penalty – only $95. That penalty, however, will increase substantially in the coming years.

Granted, there will be more glitches and plenty of fine-tuning down the track and around the bend to improve ObamaCare. Adjustments always accompany big historical changes, and the Affordable Care Act – not to forget – is the biggest health-care change since Medicare in the mid-1960s.

Despite any glitches, signs of optimism abound. A major source of optimism is the power of good ol’ wordof-mouth. As so many previously uninsured Americans buy into health coverage, they are certain to experience the benefits of health care, including free preventive checkups that can help nip problems in the bud. Prevention is one of the foundations of the ACA. Those people are sure to share their good news with family, friends, neighbors, co-workers. The good news – and good health – will convince others to enroll.

Success stories have already begun to circulate widely.

TV cook Rachael Ray, for example, tearfully told Vice President Joe Biden how elated she was that ObamaCare is a lifesaver for her brother, who’d experienced a lifethreatening illness. He would not have been able to find insurance without the ACA, which forbids companies from rejecting applicants due to pre-existing conditions.

Hopefully, we can expect to see TV ads based on those success stories to counter the inaccurate fear-and-smear ads funded by billionaires.

Some of the possible problems ahead include not enough young and healthy people signing up for plans, the danger of rising monthly premiums (always a danger with insurance rates) and getting help for people who have been dumped because their previous insurance plans were substandard, according to ACA requirements. Those problems are all fixable.

Many ObamaCare detractors had egg on their faces the morning of April 1; many were eating crow for breakfast.

But, alas, their whining continues. Minnesota Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston), for instance, whined that lawmakers promised there would be 270,000 Minnesotans signed up.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

There is a saying among a nomadic tribe in North Africa. When they’re ready to pack up and move their encampment to another place, they often say about their restive canines: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.”

Of ObamaCare this could be said: “The train-wreckers whine, but the train moves on.”

Let’s celebrate!

Fairness and ethics

Newsleader staff members have the responsibility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public. Readers who feel we’ve fallen short of these standards are urged to call the Newsleader office at 363-7741.

If matters cannot be resolved locally, readers are encouraged to take complaints to the Minnesota News Council, an independent agency designed to improve relationships between the public and the media and resolve conflicts. The council office may be reached at 612-341-9357.

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

Friday, April 11, 2014

Opinion Why read ‘moldy’ old Sinclair Lewis?

Why should anyone in this new century want to read anything by Sinclair Lewis?

“Isn’t he that moldy old author from Sauk Centre who wrote a bunch of stuff about a small Minnesota town in the 1920s?”

That’s a typical response when Lewis’s name comes up. It’s unfortunate, but it’s to be expected from people who won’t read anything older than a month and who consider even the immortal writers – Shakespeare, Austen, Tolstoy, Flaubert, Joyce, Proust, to name just six – “moldy.”

So why should anyone today read Lewis? Here’s why: His novels still have much to tell us about America and its institutions – warts and all. Though Lewis was not a master prose stylist like his contemporaries, Hemingway and Fitzgerald, he more than made up for that in the sheer drive, vigor and commotion of his storytelling skills. Lewis’s novels are still relevant because they deal with issues with which we are still grappling: stultifying provincialism, capitalism and materialism, commercialism and boosterism, the struggle for women’s rights, religious hypocrisy, the forces of political chicanery, the danger of demagogues, medical ethics, the tug-of-war between married men and women, metro vs. small-town values, and the corrupting lures of money and greed.

Well, why should we read about those themes in Lewis? Wouldn’t it be better to read current takes on those subjects?

No, not necessarily. As most novice readers of Lewis quickly discover, he had an uncanny knack for making those

Dennis Dalman Editor themes come to life through his settings and characters. It’s interesting and lots of fun to see those topics treated in that faraway country of the 1920s and 1930s; it’s like rediscovering our current selves, with a renewed focus, in a foreign land.

One of the secrets of Lewis’s greatness is he knew in his mind and soul such themes are timeless, always working themselves out, one way or another, in different times, by different people in different places, endlessly. Shakespeare, of course, understood that, too, as did all the greatest of writers, which is why their works remain classics – worth reading in any age.

Last but not least, a good reason to read Lewis is he can be laugh-out-loud hilarious. Eagle-eyed for every kind of foible and foolishness, he wrote with a caustic pen that could puncture any and all pretensions. The results are often wickedly funny.

Here are thumbnail comments about Lewis’s best books: Main Street: A woman marries a doctor and moves to his small hometown, Gopher Prairie (a fictional Sauk Centre). Bored and discontent with the vulgarities and small-mindedness of the “village,” she starts a single-minded campaign to bring high-brow culture and enlightenment to the townspeople.

Elmer Gantry: The lead character, a

preacher, is a rip-roaring, athletic, alcoholic, narcissistic, womanizing, cynical, hypocritical hellion – yet he is strangely charming, as many characters discover, to their regret.

Babbit: A gung-ho but personally unhappy businessman tries to put his life together. This novel is a masterpiece of hollow-headed, noisy, commercialcrazed boosterism, and its prose zings and hollers like a loud circus of insipid ad slogans. A great book!

Arrowsmith: A research bacteriologist wrestles with his conscience as he helps fight a plague on a Caribbean island.

Ethical (and marital) dilemmas abound in this unfairly neglected, brilliant novel.

It Can’t Happen Here: A frightening novel about a senator who promises the moon and stars while crooning a mantra of patriotism and family values. Gullible voters elect him president and soon find themselves in a totalitarian-militaristic nightmare.

Kingsblood Royal: After doing genealogy research, a middle-class white man discovers to his horror he has AfroAmerican blood in his veins. The social calamities that follow are, at the same time, pathetic and grotesquely comical.

Another unfairly neglected book, far ahead of its time.

Dodsworth: An American couple decides to take a European tour with dispiriting results. One of the best novels about a marriage unraveling. Also, a superb movie, widely considered among the top 100 of all time.

The astute critic H.L. Mencken described Lewis as “ . . . this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds.” So true. Please, readers, give Lewis a try.

Letters to editor

Don’t blame clinic problems on ObamaCare Carol Weiler, Sartell I read Irene Ertl’s letter to the editor (April 4 Newsleader Opinion Page), and I have a few suggestions for her.

First, please do not blame the Affordable Care Act (also called Obamacare) for the problems you and your daughter encountered at the doctor’s office. It seems these problems (ex-

cessive waiting, bad instruction and inappropriate billing) may be caused by bad management within your provider’s office.

It seems to me your daughter’s doctor has scheduling problems – an internal office-management problem.

Your poor instructions by a nurse, well, that’s just incompetence on her part. Both of these problems could be cured by changing doctors. These

problems are not caused by Obamacare. I, too, am on Medicare and have received prompt and courteous attention at my provider and insurer, HealthPartners, with no billing surprises. There can be a big difference in care, and it should cost no more to go to the organization that treats you the best. As for your billing mess, I cannot speak to that.

Funding pre-K makes a lot of sense Ben Davis, Sartell By 2018, 70 percent of jobs in Minnesota will require a post-secondary degree. To set our kids up for success, let’s ensure they have a strong foundation – even before kindergarten. $1 invested in pre-K can save the public $16 on welfare, crime, and remedial classes. And with a collegeeducated public, higher earnings lead to increased revenue. Economically, investing in pre-K makes sense.

Furthermore, children who attend

pre-K do better in K-12 reading and math, while those who enter kindergarten unprepared are more likely to drop out of school. Educationally, investing in pre-K makes sense.

Finally, students who attend preK are more financially stable and less likely to go to prison (remember: prison costs taxpayers) or abuse drugs. Socially, too, investing in preK makes sense.

And yet, only 2 percent of Minnesota’s 4-year olds attend state-funded pre-K, and almost half of Minnesota’s

children enter kindergarten unprepared.

In 2013, Minnesota took an important first step by investing in scholarships for high-quality pre-K, but current funding reaches only 9 percent of eligible children.

Let’s thank our state legislators for this first step, and let’s urge them to increase funding for and access to top-notch pre-K. Doing so simply makes sense.

The Newsleaders P.O. Box 324 St. Joseph, MN 56374 Email: news@thenewsleaders.com

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Friday, April 11, 2014

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

5

School district, city gear up for ‘Safe Routes to School’

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Making sure all students who walk or bike to school can stay safe is a high priority of both the City of Sartell and the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.

At the March 17 school-board meeting, Dawn Moen presented an update to the board about latest efforts to initiate a “Safe Routes to School” plan. Moen is a program specialist with CentraCare’s BLEND program.

BLEND, which stands for “Better Living: Exercise and Nutrition Daily,” promotes all aspects of wellness in central Minnesota and beyond, including the national Safe Routes to School concept.

Decades ago, even some years ago, it was common for children to walk or bike to and from school, but those numbers have been declining in the past decade or so, Moen noted.

There are many reasons, some inter-related, for the decline: fewer sidewalks, students living further distances from their schools, nasty weather, dangers from busy traffic and fear of crime or of being abducted.

At local schools, Moen noted, about 20 to 25 percent of motor traffic at or around school buildings is due to parents dropping their children off at schools.

There are concerns nowadays about children not getting enough exercise. Walking or biking to and from school – at least when the weather is decent – could go a long way in children getting the exercise they need, Moen noted. Less

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physical activity in the long run can lead to diabetes, obesity, lowered self-esteem and other adverse physical and emotional effects, she added.

Moen said the school district and the City of Sartell are both committed to the Safe Routes to School concept. The city, for example, has applied for a $500,000 grant to help construct sidewalks all along 2nd Street S. in the city,

a key road that leads to schools to the north. There is a plan to expand training for crossing guards at school crossings. The school is working with the city to create pedestrian maps for all paths near or around local schools.

One key part of the Safe Routes to School concept is to have ongoing safety-education programs for children and parents. The

annual Sartell Bike Rodeo held in the parking lot of Sartell City Hall is one such program. The next one will take place from 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, May 3 at city hall. The session is free and all children are welcome to take part in it.

The city has also been doing studies about how motor traffic affects pedestrian and biking areas.

BLEND is also pushing for many initiatives for Safe Routes to School developments in the greater St. Cloud area, including Sartell.

The school board agreed to help the city complete a street policy in order to assist with obtaining government funding for further development of Safe Routes to School.

‘Education Done Differently’ set for April 15 at SMS Sartell residents will get a chance to see first-hand how technology is impacting education at the Education Done Differently Community Presentation from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 15 at Sartell Middle

School.

Everyone is invited to attend the free event.

Visitors will be able to see and hear how state-of-the-art technology is transforming and enhancing learning at the

middle school and throughout the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.

During the evening, student projects will be showcased, and visitors will learn how teachers have been inspired

to teach differently and more effectively by taking advantage of full access to technological innovations.

The event is expected to be a “peek into the window of 21st Century education.”

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

6

Friday, April 11, 2014

photos by Dennis Dalman

Above: Siblings Eleanor, Clara and Paul Warmka of Monticello watch a large top spinning at the Pine Groove Art Festival April 5 in Sartell. Larry Merdan of Albany, owner of Wood Creations, displayed his ingenious handcrafted wooden toys and other products at the festival.

Top left: Jan Murch of Sauk Centre admires a vase created by potter Peder Hegland of Sartell at his booth.

Middle left: Matthew Kuehn of Big Lake and his two sons, Zachary and Noah, choose hand-crafted Easter eggs at the festival. The two eggs they boys bought are for their two grandmothers. The eggs were created by Cindy Zimmerman (right) and her mother, both of Hanover.

Left: Two nuns and several dazzling, dolled-up biddies provide a stunning visual contrast at the festival. The handcrafted dolls are made by a business known as “Wise Women from Wadsworth.”

SMA from front page The evening event was also a success, Putnam noted.

“It was a good audience, a very fun dancing crowd,” she said. “The band was just outstanding, and by the end of the night everybody was on the dance floor, doing a kickline dance to New York, New York. So many people told me to please offer the same event next year.”

About 30 vendors displayed their arts and crafts at the Pine Groove event. Throughout the day, there were performances by the Sartell High School Jazz Band, the Sartell Middle School Jazz Band and Strings Orchestra, the Sartell Community Band, Sartell musical faculty and many other talents from Sartell and elsewhere.

Thanks to the two fundraisers, the Sartell Music Association raised enough to purchase the following: a piccolo, a percussion stand, ukulele stands, a drum pedal, a new vocal-chord application program for the school’s sound system, sheet music and a bass amplifier.

Major donors included Al’s Instrument and Repair, Bridge of Harmony, Eckroth’s Music, Ham’s Music, Kracker Jack Drum Shop and Riff City. All of those musical businesses, who were vendors at the festival, made possible discounts on musical purchases by the Sartell Music Association. In addition, Mulligan Event Center donated space for the evening big-band event.

The Sartell Music Association is a non-profit group of parents, students and other residents whose mission is to enhance the music curriculum in the SartellSt. Stephen School District.

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Friday, April 11, 2014

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

7

Añejos offers authentic Mexican cooking

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Ramon Navarro is proud of what makes his new restaurant special – “authentic Mexican recipes.”

The restaurant, named Añejos Fine Mexican Cuisine, recently opened in the PineCone Marketplace mall on Pinecone Road S. in Sartell. It is the third Mexican-style restaurant at that location, the others being Little Fiesta and then Mi Rancho Grande.

Añejo, which means aged to perfection (as in tequila or wine) is pronounced “Ahn-YAYhoe.”

Navarro was born and raised in the city of La Piedad in the state of Michoacan in southwest Mexico. He has managed restaurants for 23 years in Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and once before in Sartell – at Mi Rancho Grande where his own restaurant is now.

Navarro and his staff completely redesigned the interior of the restaurant, hanging very large, colorful folk-art paintings on the walls, each illuminated by spotlights to make the interior resemble an art gallery.

There are bright, stylized scenes of flowers, rustic homes, desert, cacti and more. One of the showpiece artworks is a huge,

round Aztec-style creation comprised of thousands of pieces of inlaid wood.

Booths and tables line the walls, and a bar connects the two halves of the restaurant.

“One of our specialties is our molcajetes,” Navarro said. “It’s a lava stone we heat and serve food on, so the food continues to cook a bit while it’s on the tables.”

In Mexico, molcajetes – made of volcanic basalt – have been used for centuries to grind foods, such as spices and maize; and also to heat foods.

Añejos has a large menu brimming with a huge variety of offerings: tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chalupas, nachos, chiles rellenos, chimichangas, quesadillas – virtually anything for anybody hungry for any kind of Mexican-style foods. There are also seafood and vegetarian menu items. There are also combination platters – 20 kinds for dinner, 11 kinds for lunch.

The lunch special is served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Añejos also offers Mexicanstyle desserts, a dozen Mexican beers and margaritas freshmade.

“We make our margaritas only with fresh-squeezed lime and orange,” Navarro said. “We do not use frozen concentrates.

That’s why our margaritas are

so good.”

Navarro and his wife, Martha Rodriguez, who live in Sartell, have four children: Maria, Jacquelyn, Kimberly and Raymond.

All of them work at Añejos.

“Oh, yes, we all work here,” Navarro said. “We are a family business.”

Añejos is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.

photo by Dennis Dalman

Above: Alberto Santos, head chef at Anejos, fries chicken for a plate of burritos. contributed photo

At right: Pollo Anejo, one of the specialities at the new Anejos restaurant, features chicken, shrimp and rice in a savory chili gravy.

8

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

Friday, April 1111, 2014

Sheriff Johnson comes up fighting again in new novel

contributed photo

Herschbach recenlty penned his second book, entitled Seven Graves, Two Harbors.

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Sheriff Deidre Johnson is up to her neck in danger and intrigue again, this time in Seven Graves, Two Harbors, Sartell author Dennis Herschbach’s second murder-mystery novel.

After the graves of seven

bodies are discovered near remote Whyte Road near Two Harbors on the North Shore, Johnson quickly finds herself involved in the investigation of a disappearance and then of a fatal drug overdose of a young woman.

An old man, a “town drunk” bar-hopper known as Skinny,

disappears one day. His abandoned truck has been found in a ditch near Whyte Road. In the meantime, high-school student Jill Moore is found dead, the victim of a methamphetamine overdose – an overdose so massive Anderson suspects it might have been a murder.

Along the way through the page-turning novel, Herschbach introduces dozens of characters, many of them

hard-working dedicated law enforcers and others a motley crew of colorful misfits and sinister varmints.

It becomes clear eventually that the Two Harbors area has been the venue for a ring of drug-runners. Anderson begins receiving death threats on notes left on her car window.

Her significant other, John, begins to worry about her safety as the investigation grows ever deeper and more widespread.

Sheriff Johnson is not new to dangers, antagonisms, frustrated love and tangled plot developments. She was, after all, the protagonist of Herschbach’s first mystery novel, 2012’s Convergence at Two Harbors. In that book, Anderson and others discover Two Harbors is the site for a planned terrorist attack. After many pages of thickening plot developments, Johnson and others in that book are involved in a hair-raising and murderous pursuit among the cliffs of the North Shore. Johnson is shot, and by the end of the book

nobody is sure if she will ever recover fully.

But she does, of course, and she bounces back to show true grit, fearless courage and determination once again in Seven Graves, Two Harbors.

There are many plot twists and shocking developments along the way, including a stunner involving Johnson’s significant other.

Seven Graves, Two Harbors was published this past summer by North Star Press of St. Cloud.

Herschbach was for many years a teacher at Two Harbors High School before retiring.

After meeting his wife-to-be, Vicky Schaefer, he moved to her home town of Sartell.

Herschbach writes: “This book is dedicated to my wife, Vicky Schaefer, who supports all of my writing endeavors and encourages me when I begin to doubt myself.”

Seven Graves, Two Harbors can be purchased via amazon. com.

Residents’ input needed for comprehensive plan

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Input from Sartell residents will be crucial if the city is to formulate a successful 10-Year Comprehensive Plan, and that is why city staff is urging residents to give suggestions via the website.

The last time the Sartell City Council approved a 10year comprehensive plan was in

2009. Obviously, many things have changed since then. Both the city council and city’s planning commission are eager to review the current comprehensive plan to ensure it’s brought up to date and is relevant to the future. The plan is an important guiding document for all planning and growth for the future.

It is, in a sense, a rough blueprint for where the residents want the city to go.

CHECK US OUT ON THE WEB www.thenewsleaders.com P.O. Box 324 • 32 1st Ave. NW St. Joseph, MN 56374

320-363-7741

The review of the plan will include current goals and objectives and consideration of new goals, objectives and city policies. The update will also include discussions as to the management of future growth that will identify appropriate areas best suited for the building of single-family homes, apartment complexes, and commercial and industrial developments. The plan will also update the city’s transportation system, its parks, its economic-development strategies and sustainability efforts to protect the environment and to balance growth within all types of healthy parameters.

All residents are encouraged to email questions and suggestions to Sartell City Planner and Developer Anita Rasmussen at anita@sartell.com. Or visit the city’s website at: www.sartellmn.com.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

9

Should city allow mobile-food vendors?

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Should mobile-food vendors be licensed to operate in Sartell?

That’s the question being pondered by Anita Rasmussen, the city’s director of planning and community development. The issue will likely come up for city-council consideration this spring.

Rasmussen said the definition of mobile-food vehicle vendors are those that are self-contained trucks or trailers used to serve food within a parking lot, on private property or possibly in some parks. An example, Rasmussen noted, would be a vendor selling tacos from a vehicle that were prepared by the vendor inside that vehicle.

The city’s vending ordinance does allow currently for food vehicles such as the Schwann food-products trucks and a neighborhood ice-cream vending vehicle.

H o w e v e r, those vending vehicles are different because they sell foods that have been pre- Rasmussen packaged, not made within the vehicles.

Rasmussen said she has heard concerns from some people that mobile-food vehicle vendors would be competing with the typical “brickand-mortar” food establishments currently in the city that pay city taxes.

Rasmussen is seeking more input from people on that concern and others, such as: • Is changing the city ordinance to accommodate such food-vending vehicles a good idea or not?

• Should the city allow it because it would provide convenient fast food to employees who may not have a long lunch break?

photo by Wayne Djiubinski, www.minnpost.com

Food trucks lining Marquette Avenue in Minneapolis on a sunny July day.

• Are there any other concerns for or against changing the ordinance?

Anyone with comments should email them to Rasmussen at anita@sartellmn.com.

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Q: There was a very recent ruling by a judge that motorists can legally flash their lights to warn other motorists of a speed trap. How does this affect law enforcement and is this issue that simple, or is there a lot more to it than that? Thanks.

A: I’ve heard of the ruling, but have not yet read any specific legal documents related to that ruling. Remember, our traffic law in Minnesota requires dimming your bright lights within 1,000 feet of meeting another vehicle, and that still stands. M.S.S. 169.61 (b) states: “When the driver of a vehicle approaches a vehicle within 1,000 feet, such driver shall use a distribution of light, or composite beam, so aimed that the glaring rays are not projected into the eyes of the oncoming driver.”

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bright lights on and the other driver is trying to get you to dim them.

Other reasons motorists flash their lights is to warn of a hazard, like deer on or near the highway, objects in the roadway or a host of other reasons or hazards. I suppose it differs from where you live, but in my circles, the least of all reasons motorists are flashing their headlights is to warn someone of a speed trap. I don’t think it’s a big topic of discussion in many law-enforcement circles.

The main point is, when another driver flashes their headlights at you, are you always going to know the exact rea-

son why? If some drivers think there is a speed trap ahead and they slow down, then we are “money ahead” it seems and we have one less speeding driver out on the highway. I am not sure, but that is probably why the ruling came out, and it is no surprise and nothing new really.

If you have any questions concerning traffic-related laws or issues in Minnesota, send your questions to Trp. Jesse Grabow – Minnesota State Patrol at 1000 Hwy. 10 W., Detroit Lakes, MN 56501-2205 or follow him on Twitter @MSPPIO_NW or reach him at, jesse.grabow@ state.mn.us.

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Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

Friday, April 11, 2014

House for homeless youth to open in April

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

Starting this April, some homeless youth in the area will have a safe, warm home, thanks to the new transitional youth-house project of Catholic Charities of St. Cloud.

The home was created in an old, refurbished home right

by St. Cloud State University, at 374 4th Ave. S. in a historic neighborhood right across from the First Presbyterian Church.

Any homeless children in any city of the greater St. Cloud area will be potential candidates for the homeless-project house.

Stacy Pederson of Sartell is program manger for the Catholic Charities youth-house project.

“We’ve been talking about this need for a long time,” she said. “We did a lot of brainstorming with others. We gath-

ered numbers and kept ourselves informed.”

A major share of the funding for the house project comes from the Minnesota Department of Human Services, with some from the United Way and the West Central Initiative Foundation, as well as from many individual donors.

To begin with, the house will be able to accommodate up to seven youth ages 18-21. Later, that number will be expanded to up to 13, each person with his or her own room. Catholic Charities also hopes to have some short-term emergency beds available.

Homeless youth will be able to live in that house for up to 24 months. The house is the core of a transitional program that will help the homeless youth daily in a number of ways. They will have help with schooling, learn life-sufficiency skills, assistance in finding

contributed photo

This is one of the refurbished rooms in a large old house that will be used to shelter homeless youth in the greater St. Cloud area. The Catholic Charities “homeless home” is located in a historic neighborhood right by St. Cloud State University. jobs and a variety of support programs that will encourage positive social activities. Those who may be having problems with drug and/or alcohol must keep working toward sobriety, including treatment sessions, or they will not be allowed to stay there.

There will be a trained adult staff at the house on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week.

The house, Pederson said, is an ideal location because it is close to bus service, the public library and walking distance to many places where homeless youth can connect with services they may need.

Who are they?

Prospective tenants for the house will be carefully screened. Catholic Charities homeless-outreach worker Jennifer Walker will make contacts with homeless youth. She frequently meets such young people at places where they “hang out,” such as the St. Cloud Public Library, Place of Hope, the Lake George and down-

town area and the Salvation Army. After she meets such young people, she finds ways to help them. Now, thanks to the homeless-youth house, she will be able to find qualified candidates a safe home base.

Catholic Charities has always been concerned with homelessness and homeless youth, Pederson noted. In some cases, they were able to be placed temporarily in apartment units, and in other cases they were offered other kinds of assistance.

Last year, Catholic Charities helped 75 homeless young people, 16 of them under the age of 16. Some of them even had children of their own, making their needs especially acute.

Pederson described the range of problems that cause young people to become homeless.

Most she said, are estranged from their parents because of a variety of issues and, thus, those bonds have been damaged, sometimes seemingly beyond repair. Almost all homeless youth simply do not have any money or resources to find a home base. Many of them have had unhealthy relationships and broken friendships, leaving them no place to stay.

Because of all those factors, and more, homeless youth are particularly vulnerable, Pederson noted.

Needs

Recently, Sartell resident and Catholic Charities Board member Sarah Jane Nicoll hosted a “shower” get-together at the homeless-youth house. She was helped by another Sartell resident and friend, Lisa Mauer.

People who attended the shower brought a variety of gifts that will be needed at the home, such as linens, kitchen ware, laundry soap and other miscellaneous household items.

Such ongoing contributions will be important to the success of the home, Pederson said.

Here are some of the other ways area residents can help: Anyone who is adept at fixup projects in older homes and is willing to volunteer their time and skills would be appreciated. For example, eventually the furnace or water heater might need to be fixed or replaced.

There are also still some areas of the home that need some fix-up tweaking. Contributions to help pay for fix-up projects are also needed.

Volunteers willing to come to the house to help lead activities are also needed, such as people this spring and summer to teach basic gardening skills, helping youth with resumes and work applications, assisting with and teaching cooking and hosting occasional game nights (i.e. Trivial Pursuit and other board games).

Anyone who wants to contribute time, money or skills – as in the list above – should call Catholic Charities Volunteer Coordinator Kathleen Mulligan. Her number is 320-2294590.

Another way to help is to purchase household items online. There is a wish list at Target just for the homelessproject house. Go to www. target.com, then go to Registries and pull down that menu.

Then under “Target wedding registries,” click on “Find.” In the two blank boxes, first type in “Catholic Charities” where it says “First Name.” Then in the second box, where it says “Last Name,” type in “shy.” Then click “Find” and the registry list will pop up.

To learn more about Catholic Charities Supportive Housing for Youth (SHY) go online to www.ccstcloud.org/shy. People can contribute on that site, as well.

Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com

Friday, April 11, 2014

Community Calendar

Friday, April 11 Discovery Day, students in grades 5-11 are invited to tour, St. John’s Preparatory School, Collegeville. 320363-3315.

Blood drive, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., American Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Germain St., St. Cloud. 1-800-733-2767.

St. Joseph Farmers’ Market, 3-6 p.m., Resurrection Lutheran Church, 610 CR 2 N., St. Joseph.

Multicultural College Fair, 5-7 p.m., Social Room, St. Boniface Church, 501 Main St., Cold Spring.

Speak individually with representatives of 10 colleges who speak Spanish and English with materials available in Somali. 320-685-3949, Fish Fry, 4-8 p.m., eat in at All Saints school cafeteria, parish Heritage Hall, American Legion-St. Joseph and The Middy, or take out at Heritage Hall, St. Joseph.

Fish Fry, 5-8 p.m., Stride Academy fundraiser, El Paso Sports Bar & Grill, 200 2nd Ave. NW, St. Joseph.

Saturday, April 12 Sartell Farmers’ Winter Market, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sartell City Hall, 125 Pinecone Road N. Fun Fest Charity Carnival, sponsored by high school student council, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Sartell High School, 748 7th St. N., Sartell. All proceeds go to Children’s Lighthouse of Minnesota.

Llama Llama Storytime, 10:3011:30 a.m., children ages 3 to 6, Al Ringsmuth Public Library, 253 5th Ave. N., Waite Park. Registration required. 320-253-9359.

Sunday, April 13 Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge Choir, 10:30 a.m., Grace Baptist Fellowship Church, 1197 Pine Cone Road, Sartell. 320-252-5548.

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Monday, April 14 Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., American Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Germain St., St. Cloud. 1-800-733-2767.

Sartell City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall. 320-253-2171.

Tuesday, April 15 Blood drive, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., American Red Cross, 1301 W. St..

Germain St., St. Cloud. 1-800-7332767.

Sartell Chamber of Commerce, 11:45 a.m., City Hall. 320-253-2171.

“Home Buying 101,” part of a financial fitness workshop series, 6-7 p.m., Room 208, Great River Regional Library, 12th Avenue and St. Germain St. W., St. Cloud.

Holistic Moms Network, 7-8:30 p.m., Good Earth Co-op, St. Cloud.

320-252-2489.

“Are you poisoning your family?” get toxic products out of your home, 7 p.m., Riverside Plaza, 101 7th St. N., corner unit 4, Sartell. 320217-2700.

Wednesday, April 16 Car Seat Clinic, 3-6 p.m, certified technicians check the safety and fit of your car seat in your car, Gold Cross Ambulance garage, 2800 7th St. N., St. Cloud. Free service. 320656-7021.

Thursday, April 17 Coffee and Conversation, a senior discussion group, 9 a.m., Country Manor, Sartell.

Blood drive, noon-6 p.m., American Red Cross, 1301 W. St.. Germain St., St. Cloud. 1-800-733-2767.

Friday, April 18 Fish Fry, 5-8 p.m., St. Joseph Lions fundraiser, El Paso Sports Bar and Grill, 200 2nd Ave. NW, St. Joseph.

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Intersection flooding solution proposed

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

The annual spring flooding at the intersection of Pinecone Road and 2-1/2 Street might become a thing of the past if a new solution works.

The Sartell City Council has authorized a diversion project to keep snow-melt and rainwater build-up away from that soggy intersection. In spring and at times during heavy rainfalls, that intersection – one of the busiest in Sartell – has become a virtual lake.

Sartell Engineer Mike Nielson outlined the plan at a recent council meeting. Part

of the curb at that intersection will be removed, which will allow flood water to spill over into a shallow ditch (swale) so excess water will flow south, at an area east of the city-hall parking lot into an existing settling pond. One culvert would be installed.

Work will be done this summer, and Nielson said any contractor on the project will be requested to do the work around the summer events that take place in and around the city-hall area to minimize disruptions at those events.

Council member Steve Hennes said a short walking trail near the proposed swale

should be taken out. That trail, he said, comes to an abrupt end along city-hall property next to Pinecone Road. It is, Hennes said, the “trail to nowhere.”

It also encourages some walkers to cross Pinecone Road at a place where there are no lights or safe-crossing indicators, Hennes added.

Nielson and other council members agreed with Hennes, saying it could be easily done.

The cost of the project is estimated at about $86,000, but that will depend upon bids to be presented to the council in April for the council’s consideration.

Roundabout possibility moves forward

by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com

One of the most dangerous intersections in Sartell will likely get a roundabout, but it will cost more than originally proposed.

The intersection, the site of many accidents in recent years, is located at CR 133 and 19th Avenue, west of Pinecone Road where it meets Heritage Drive.

Stearns County Highway Engineer Jody Teich told the council she had some “bad news” to

present – the roundabout project will cost more than original estimates. That, she said, is because an engineering study showed the roads leading to the intersection must be redesigned with medians and 19th Avenue must be widened to make the roundabout safe and so that motorists have enough visual clues to prepare for the roundabout ahead. Lighting will also be required on stretches of the roads leading to the roundabout, Teich noted.

Teich said about $175,000 in

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a safety grant should be available for the project, with maybe more funding available later.

The total estimated cost of the project is about $870,000. Stearns County would provide a large share of the funds, and the city the rest.

Teich requested the council approve a consent resolution for the project, which is required so the lengthy state and federal process can go forward.

The council voted unanimously for the resolution.

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Friday, April 11, 2014

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